Category Archives: Word 2013

Did you know there is much more you can do to enhance your experiences with the Microsoft Office 2013 Suite than what is already included in Word? Excel? PowerPoint? or Outlook? While the applications within the Suite are literally crammed with tons of powerful features, there additional ways (through add-ins) that you can customize your specific office needs even further, which can save you time and effort. These apps range from

Converting PDF files to text (recognizes text in six different languages).

Generating a tag cloud of text from a Word document.

Sending fax documents without leaving Word.

Searching the web via Google within Word, Excel, or PowerPoint—no need to toggle back and forth between your Office applications and your web browser.

Creating a graphical idea map from any of the Office applications.

Converting the case of your text in Excel files quickly—This can be a life saver if you are importing information into Excel from a variety of sources because it saves you time and energy by not having to make “hand edits” that are slow and manual.

Creating Excel data as a “heat map” – provides a visual of data for the United States and is color coded.

Integrating key information from LinkedIn from your profile with Outlook—can help with your networking capabilities.

Sending Direct Messages from Outlook to Twitter.

Vangie Beal previewed a total of 30 MS Office apps that can help you increase your productivity and efficiency, but there are many others that have been added that may fit your needs also.

Many of the apps are free, while others may have a one-time charge or a subscription fee. If you see any that can help you, simply click this link to go to store.office.com and then “shop until you drop”!

P.S. I just found another app (for Excel) that can be very engaging when you are trying to transform data to a simple graphic quickly and easily. It’s free, it’s easy, and the name is Bubbles—try it, you might like it!

Take a look at the sample screen shot below.

If you want to learn new software or if you need to update your software skills, consider enrolling in the Business Office Systems & Support program at Richland College. You will have a wide selection of courses (offered online and face-to-face) from which to choose. These courses range from basic keyboarding, computer literacy, business communications, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access (includes preparation for the Microsoft Office Specialist certification exam**), office procedures, etc. These courses can all lead you towards a college-credit certificate or a 2-year associate’s degree.

Richland College is located in northeast Dallas at 12800 Abrams Road. For more information contact Becky Jones, Associate Dean, bjones@dcccd.edu at 972-238-6215.

**Richland College is an authorized Microsoft Testing Center.

***Get a Free Copy of Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2013***If you are a student in the Dallas County Community College District, you are eligible to download a FREE version of Microsoft Office 2013 Pro Plus (or 2011 on the Mac) which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, Publisher, and OneNote.

Switching the order of paragraphs in a Microsoft Office Word document can be a frustrating task. If you cut and paste the paragraph, you often have to add or remove space before or after the paragraph to make certain that the spacing is correct.

Instead of cutting and pasting, try using the SHIFT + ALT keyboard shortcut method. The task is easy using this method. Follow these steps:

Click anywhere in the paragraph you wish to move

Hold down SHIFT + ALT

Move the paragraph up or down using the up/down arrow keys

Each press of an arrow key causes the paragraph to “jump above or below” one adjacent paragraph

If you are unfamiliar with the SHIFT + ALT method, try it! You will find this method both quick and easy to use, and your document will be complete with all paragraphs in the correct order in no time. It is another little known perk of Microsoft Office Word.

We all have our favorite Microsoft Word tips and shortcuts! My favorite shortcut is that pressing the F12 key opens the Word Save As dialog box.

In this article, Susan Harkins shares five easy-to-implement tips that will simplify your Microsoft Word tasks. Another of my favorites, which she discusses in her first tip, explains how to quickly select a sentence. This tip is especially handy when the sentence begins and ends in the middle of a line.

Please click the link below to read all of the tips from Susan on the Tech Republic Web site; save time and have fun using your newly acquired knowledge!

If you are like me, you really enjoy the winter holidays. There are so many different activities to enjoy! With each activity usually comes an invitation, a sign, and even thank you cards. If you share a special holiday food with someone you may need recipe cards. To help with all of these things, you can use Microsoft Word’s great templates. Here are a few below:

___________________________________________________________________________________________________For more information on the Business Office Systems and Support department, contact Becky Jones, Associate Dean, bjones@dcccd.edu 972-238-6215.

Are you planning your Thanksgiving dinner or event? If so, you can use Microsoft Word templates to help you create all the necessary documents. Templates are very easy to use. You just type your text into the placeholders. You can use the images included on them, or you can delete the images and add your own. Some templates can be printed and written on, if you prefer to do so.

Here are links to several of the files that can make your preparations much easier. Just right-click on each one and save the file to your computer:

Enjoy creating all of the items for your special celebration or event!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________For more information on the Business Office Systems and Support department, contact Becky Jones, Associate Dean, bjones@dcccd.edu 972-238-6215.

One of the new features introduced in Office 2007 was the Ribbon interface. The Ribbon is still a vital part of Office 2010 and the newest version, Office 2013.

Some users become very frustrated because suddenly as they are hurriedly completing a task the buttons on the Ribbon are no longer visible and all that can be seen are the tabs across the top of the Ribbon, for example in Microsoft Word 2013, Home, Insert, Design, Page Layout, References, Mailings, Review, and View. You might call this the “mystery of the missing buttons,” which can be most annoying to the user.

Ribbon with Only Tabs Displayed

The cause of the problem and its solution are, however, very simple. We have all become very accustomed to double clicking the left mouse button to issue a command. However, if you double click a tab on the Ribbon, it hides the buttons on the Ribbon. How do you get those buttons to reappear? Simply double click any tab again, and, magically, everything is back as it should be!

We might think we know Microsoft Excel or Word, even at an advanced level. Have you ever started a job or project and realized that you don’t know the software like you need to?

Why not back up your skills with a world recognized certificate from Microsoft. Just studying and preparing for the exam can help you learn more about the software.

If you are interested in taking one of the certification exams, start at the Certiport website. (http://www.certiport.com) They administer the Microsoft exams. Richland College is a certified testing center. We have classes that can help you prepare. Give us a call: 972-238-6215!

Richland College, which is located in northeast Dallas at 12800 Abrams Road, offers both online and on-campus courses. For more information contact Becky Jones, Associate Dean, bjones@dcccd.edu 972-238-6215.

***Get a Free Copy of Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2013***If you are a student in the Dallas County Community College District, you are eligible to download a free version of Microsoft Office 2013 Pro Plus (or 2011 on the Mac) which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, Publisher, and OneNote.